Mushy MIddle, Fence Straddlers.......

Meet Miller's kingmakers
These 7 Toronto councillors could stop mayor's steamrolling, but have sold their political souls
By SUE-ANN LEVY

When council recently refused to support lowering this year's property tax hike to 2%, it was not Mayor David Miller's socialist minions who cast the deciding votes.
A group of seven councillors in the mushy middle gave King David the votes he needed to ensure a "reasonable restraint" package proposed by a group of right-wing councillors died 19-26.
This same group -- Raymond Cho, Norm Kelly, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Frank Di Giorgio, Suzan Hall, Ron Moeser and Paul Ainslie -- propped up Miller's plan to hand taxpayers a 4% hike and the spending choices made in this year's $8.7-billion operating budget.
The Group of Seven also voted not to allow debate on whether to rescind councillors' 2.4% pay hike this year.
It will not surprise me one bit either if the same councillors all vote "yes" next week in favour of the mayor's highly inequitable plan to freeze the wages of 4,000 management staff working at City Hall -- while refusing to demand publicly that the CUPE unions, all managers at city agencies, boards and commissions and councillors do the same.
While I've made no secret of my disdain for the socialist minions who hang on Miller's every word, at least they've never pretended to be anything but out-of-touch and entitled.
I find it far more reprehensible to watch some members of the Group of Seven -- who've sold themselves as fiscal conservatives -- sell their political souls so easily.
Coun. Doug Holyday says on every key issue, it has become clear that the mayor -- at the very most -- has 19 or 20 NDP votes and consistently needs some members of this group to win a clear majority at council.
He thinks it's quite clear that several of them have "made deals" with the mayor to hold key positions that support his agenda -- even though they never portrayed themselves as NDPers when they ran for office.
"Loyalty definitely has its rewards," adds Coun. Mike Del Grande.
Take Scarborough politician Norm Kelly -- who in 2005 put together an Alternate Budget Committee (ABC) to try to force the mayor's spending decisions to be far more transparent.
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM ...
It failed miserably and after that I'm guessing Kelly decided if he couldn't beat 'em, he'd join 'em. Now he sits on the mayor's executive committee and is chairman of the planning and growth committee, giving him regular access to the city's development industry.
Kelly couldn't be reached for comment yesterday. However during a recent appearance with him on a Talk 640 panel, the councillor told me he supported what the mayor is doing with respect to business in this city.
Etobicoke councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby has consistently insisted she's a fiscal conservative, even while supporting the mayor's land transfer and vehicle ownership taxes. In return for her devout loyalty to Miller, Lindsay Luby, who didn't return Sun phone calls yesterday, has been handed the job of deputy speaker and chairmanship of the government management committee.
Ditto for Scarborough councillor Raymond Cho, the political chameleon who five years ago tried to run for the Tories federally. Cho, who has refused to give up his pay hike this year, was also paid handsomely for his unwavering support for Miller. He has remained chairman of the Toronto Zoo board, even as it has become obvious he'll do nothing to ensure the Zoo is on solid financial footing in years to come.
Ron Moeser and Frank Di Giorgio also couldn't be reached. But I'm not sure what value either add to Socialist Silly Hall other than being sure votes for Miller.
Suzan Hall responded "absolutely not" when I asked whether she's worried she'd be tossed from her position on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) if she voted against Miller.
She insisted she "works on issues" and doesn't enjoy "being threatened."
Holyday said Paul Ainslie -- who sits on the budget committee -- is quite often on the side of the mayor as well.
Ainslie told me yesterday he considers himself fiscally responsible but that 4% was an "adequate" property tax increase. He adds he didn't support the land transfer or vehicle ownership taxes.
Nevertheless, given how much this group props up the mayor, Holyday feels it is crucial the pressure be put on them to act more fiscally responsible.
"If we're going to stop Miller and his group from implementing new taxes and new programs, we've got to get some of these people to vote with the other side," he said. "The future of Toronto depends on this."